Overview

• On June 5, the CCPA issued an advisory to over 50 companies, including e-commerce, travel, food-tech and fintech platforms, directing them to eliminate dark patterns within three months.
• The advisory invokes Rule 4(9) of the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, which requires explicit user consent rather than pre-ticked checkboxes or similar default settings.
• The Department of Consumer Affairs has convened a 19-member Joint Working Group chaired by Bharat Harbanslal Khera to track violations and provide recommendations over the next 12 months.
• Flipkart praised the move as aligning with its transparency commitment while other platforms have questioned the advisory’s binding authority and most have yet to respond publicly.
• Despite the directive, some apps such as Swiggy, Zomato and MakeMyTrip continue to employ drip pricing, hidden fees and false urgency prompts identified in the CCPA’s 13 types of dark patterns.